Top concepts to teach girls about money

Ten years ago, we practically never talked to girls about money. Happily, that's different today and we're having more conversations with girls, but, I think, one of the things that gets in the way of young women is that we don't expect enough from them. You know, daddy is still tempted to look at his daughter as daddy's little girl and in doing that, he undermines her and doesn't take her seriously enough. We don't hold the bar high enough for girls. Interestingly, we often, in the contrast, hold the bar too high for boys, because it turns out that both boys and girls need financial education, but we often assume boys know more than they do and we allow girls to know less than they should. It turns out that what makes the difference with girls is the presence and the engagement of really powerful role models. If mum is the CEO of a company, that's great, but maybe she's an anomaly, and after all, she's mom, so I don't really recognize her as a role model. It's only when girls are in the presence of lots of women that they begin to understand a new normal, a new norm, and they see themselves reflected, so, if you have daughters, one of the things I recommend, or nieces, by the way, as well, what we recommend is you take them with you everywhere. Most of the people watching this video probably have pretty good social networks and make sure you introduce those girls at every turn to women making a difference, who are in charge, in control, give them a sense of what's possible in their own lives.

Joline Godfrey

CEO of Independent Means

Joline Godfrey is the CEO of Independent Means and the author of Raising Financially Fit Kids;Our Wildest Dreams: Women Making Money, Having Fun, Doing Good; No More Frogs To Kiss: 99 Ways to Give Economic Power to Girls; andTwenty $ecrets to Money and Independence: The DollarDiva’s Guide to Life.

A clinical social worker by training, at the beginning of her career, Godfrey was an executive of the Polaroid Corporation where she provided in-house family and therapeutic services to officers and employees. One of the first women in the nation to manage a spin-off from a Fortune 500 company, she launched Odysseum, a spin-off from Polaroid, and sold it in 1990. Odysseum was a creativity training company serving other Fortune 500 firms.

Godfrey is a graduate of the University of Maine and Boston University and was awarded an Honorary Degree in Business from Bentley College in 1995. She was a Kellogg Leadership Fellow and the recipient of the Leavey Award for Excellence, as well as the Beta Gamma Sigma Entrepreneurship Award.

Recognized in features for The Today Show, Oprah, Fortune, Business Week, The New York Times, and more, Ms. Godfrey is a frequent speaker and consultant worldwide. Godfrey grew up in a family business in Maine and lives in Ojai, CA.

Ten years ago, we practically never talked to girls about money. Happily, that's different today and we're having more conversations with girls, but, I think, one of the things that gets in the way of young women is that we don't expect enough from them. You know, daddy is still tempted to look at his daughter as daddy's little girl and in doing that, he undermines her and doesn't take her seriously enough. We don't hold the bar high enough for girls. Interestingly, we often, in the contrast, hold the bar too high for boys, because it turns out that both boys and girls need financial education, but we often assume boys know more than they do and we allow girls to know less than they should. It turns out that what makes the difference with girls is the presence and the engagement of really powerful role models. If mum is the CEO of a company, that's great, but maybe she's an anomaly, and after all, she's mom, so I don't really recognize her as a role model. It's only when girls are in the presence of lots of women that they begin to understand a new normal, a new norm, and they see themselves reflected, so, if you have daughters, one of the things I recommend, or nieces, by the way, as well, what we recommend is you take them with you everywhere. Most of the people watching this video probably have pretty good social networks and make sure you introduce those girls at every turn to women making a difference, who are in charge, in control, give them a sense of what's possible in their own lives.